Paris - Day 3 (a historical day)

This morning, we took a train out to the outer part of Paris (we are staying in the downtown part) to Veilhan Versailles, the palace of King Louise XIV of France. The train ride was interesting because I saw the residential areas of Paris, which finally looked more normal in their architecture. The houses were mostly bungalows, not the HDB style. It reminded me the old US residence we had.

Outside the palace

The palace was restored and converted into a museum. We walked through the rooms, saw the queen and king's beds, many paintings and other artefacts. There was a n audio guide so I didn't get too bored. The palace had a huge garden, which was at least 10 times bigger than the building. I think it's crucial that the palace (including the garden) is huge so that the king can explore his home and not get bored easily.

The glass pyramid and the Louvre

We all know her...

In the late afternoon, we spent another few hours visiting the Louvre, a famous musuem. There was the glass pyramid in front of the old building which I think I saw in The Da Vinci Code (movie). The Louvre is very big because it also used to be a palace. It is rich in European history. One of the paintings on display is the Mona Lisa (original). I was quite excited about seeing it for real.

For people my age (18/17 and below), it's a good idea to go to Paris to visit museums and other sites because I usually got reduced entrance fees (eg. climbing up the Arch of Triumph) or even free tickets (eg. the Lourve). I kept rubbing in to mom that I was more economical to bring around in Paris.

Paris is really a city of lights. The buildings look old but when they're lighted up, they look very good. It's a different feel you get from looking at Singapore at night.

My legs are very tired from walking around so much. Free and easy holidays don't have the luxury of tour buses, organised plans etc. Sometimes we get lost and all that, but the good thing is that we get to learn a lot more from reading up and experiencing the adventures on our own. I don't remember any holiday when we joined a tour group.

Paris: 10:36pm, Wednesday
Singapore: 5:36am, Thursday